Marie Slater is IASB immediate past president and a board member in Wheaton Warrenville CUSD 200.

I had followed Barack Obama's campaign from the day he announced his candidacy in January 2007 on the steps of the Old Courthouse in Springfield to his election as our 44th president on November 4, 2008.

With my daughters, Mary and Maureen, and son-in law Chettha, I attended his election celebration in Chicago's Grant Park. And, with a great deal of planning, some difficult choices, Mary's network of friends, family and colleagues, and the Internet, I was able to attend the inauguration as well.

Several weeks after the election, friends of Chettha, who work in federal government positions, e-mailed that if we wanted to attend the inauguration we needed to contact our members of Congress immediately to request tickets. We did just that. Mary also e-mailed her network to have each one request tickets that were to be distributed in January. That meant we needed to make travel reservations for the possibility of attending without a ticket.

The #1 priority was to decide whether to spend several days in Washington or fly in and out on Inauguration Day. Since my son, Matt, and his family live near Philadelphia that was my first choice. I thought I could take Amtrak from Philly to D.C. and back that day and fly home the next day. However, all the seats on Amtrak were already taken.

I decided that flying in and out of Washington on the same day would be my best alternative. As I viewed the options and paused to decide, the price for flights went up $200! Deciding that was still the best option, I booked a 6 a.m. departure from O'Hare and a return flight at 7:30 p.m., from Reagan International.

Mary and her husband, John, made separate plans, flying into Philadelphia on January 17, renting a car and staying close to D.C. They enjoyed the pre-inauguration festivities and learned about navigating the crowds expected for the ceremony.

We all had requested tickets, but only Mary received some: four silver tickets from John's family in Barrington and two blue tickets from a work colleague in Missouri. Mary and John would use the blue tickets and I would have one of the silver ones.

Hour by hour on Inaugural Day

3 a.m. — Excitedly, I arose after five hours of sleep. With a cold but sunny forecast for Washington and a predicted high of 20 to 25 degrees, I was prepared with my full ski outfit, including hand and foot warmers. Additionally, I stuffed my pockets with all necessities for the day since security disallowed bags of any size.

4 a.m. — I left for O'Hare, arriving at 4:50 a.m. Security was tight, especially for Washington-bound flights. My hand and foot warmers got special scrutiny. I was checked a second time at the gate where I got the full wand treatment.

6 a.m. — Flight 0600, a 757 with 95 stand-by customers, took off on time. I caught up with lost sleep.

8:45 a.m. — I arrived at Reagan where I met one of daughter Monica's college friends who lives in Washington, and two of her friends. They would use the three remaining silver tickets. After putting on ski pants and other items that I had carried in a collapsible bag, we were ready for the big adventure. Mary's call warned us about the huge crowds in the Metro stations and lines waiting for entrance to the Capitol grounds.

9:30 a.m. — We boarded the Metro for our ride to the National Mall, site of the inauguration ceremonies, on the west side of the Capitol. Metro was so crowded it could not stop at the station we had planned. Instead, the train went two stops beyond and we disembarked in Chinatown, on the north side of the Mall, where the crowd made for a slow exit.

10-11:30 a.m. — Following the crowd, we slowly made our way to the silver-ticket entrance on the south side of the Capitol. We finally walked through the I-395 tunnel, closed to vehicle traffic, and found the much anticipated ticket line. It was so long that it stretched down the block and around the corner. Time was getting short. As we started our trek to the back of the line I realized that it wasn't moving fast enough for us to get in the gate by the 11:30 a.m. deadline for entry. It flashed through my mind that I would not see the inauguration.

As we got closer to the security gate, people were holding up their silver tickets and chanting, "Let us in." For whatever reason, the gate opened and we flowed in, with no security in sight. It was amazing! The designated silver area was closed because it was past 11:30 a.m., but we were standing on Third Street where we had free range. The four of us could not believe our good fortune as we settled in for the experience of a lifetime. We were in the back of the area of ticketed attendees but had a clear view of the Capitol steps, a view of a Jumbotron, and the sound was perfect. Hooray!

Noon — President Obama's inauguration saw the biggest crowd (an estimated 1.9 million) ever assembled for one event in history. People stretched from the Capitol down the Mall to the Lincoln Memorial. There were Jumbotrons all along the way with accompanying sound projection.

Words cannot describe my emotions as he took the oath of office. I am grateful that I was at that site at that time to experience a new chapter in our nation's history as the first African American became president.

1:30 p.m. — The ceremony complete, the crowd began dispersing. It has been hours since we have had food or drink, except for a small Snickers bar. Mary and John sent us a text message where we would find them at a restaurant with a reserved table. Their inauguration ticket location was much closer to the Capitol than ours, so they were ahead of the crowd for the mile walk to the designated meeting place.

As we entered the café, many hopeful patrons were leaving because of a two-hour wait. We located Mary and John upstairs with a big table and food already ordered. The six of us spent the next two hours recapping the events of the day and celebrating with the other patrons.

4 p.m. — Mary, John and I walked to the Eastern Market Metro station for our return to Reagan and my flight to Chicago. They had learned the best way to get a seat on the Metro was to walk to a stop or two east of the Capitol. That information proved beneficial as we got seats on what would be a very crowded train to the airport.

5 p.m. — We arrived at Reagan for my 7:30 p.m. flight. John checked the United board and found that there was a 6:30 p.m. flight, which had a seat available. I made the change and spent about 40 minutes having a snack with Mary and John prior to boarding. They were taking the Metro to their car and returning to Manassas for the night. Their flight from Philly was at noon the next day.

6:30 p.m. — A young African American flight attendant greeted us as we boarded the flight to Chicago. He had a homemade corsage on the front of his uniform and was grinning from ear to ear in excitement over having the first African American sworn in as president. On our arrival in Chicago, he said, "Welcome to Chicago, the home of the 44th President of the United States." The passengers cheered loudly.

10 p.m. — After a 19-hour Inauguration Day, I was back in bed and recapping a very eventful, rewarding and never-to-be-forgotten day. I had sore feet but a good night's sleep relieved the discomfort.

The thought has crossed my mind many times: "What if I had not taken the risk associated with attending this inauguration and regretted it my whole life."

I'm glad I will not have those regrets.

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